Does FSD transfer to a new owner when a Tesla is sold?

Tesla's rule, word for word

The resale rule lives on Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) support page. This is the wording in the February 15, 2026 and June 10, 2026 captures (the newest available to us) of tesla.com/support/fsd:

"The availability of FSD (Supervised) for the vehicle will vary based on the previous owner's ownership or subscription status of FSD (Supervised). If the previous owner subscribed to FSD (Supervised), you will need to subscribe using your own Tesla Account. If the previous owner purchased FSD (Supervised) outright and is not transferring it to a new vehicle, you will receive the vehicle with FSD (Supervised). If the previous owner has FSD (Supervised) from the Luxe Package, your vehicle may come with FSD (Supervised) depending on when the Luxe Package was purchased."

Tesla support, Full Self-Driving (Supervised). Archived captures: February 15, 2026, June 10, 2026.

Before February 2026 the same page put it even more simply: "If the previous owner purchased FSD (Supervised) with a one-time payment rather than subscribing, then the vehicle will be transferred to you with FSD (Supervised)" (December 2025 capture).

Tesla's pages can change without notice. If you are about to pay a premium for FSD, read the live page on the day.

Case by case: what reaches the next owner

Two of those rows need more detail.

The Luxe Package

Every 2026 model-year Model S and Model X was ordered with Tesla's Luxe Package, and so were new Cyberbeast trucks ordered between August 21, 2025 and February 19, 2026 (Tesla support, Luxe Package page). Tesla's current terms are blunt:

"The Full Self-Driving (Supervised), Free Supercharging and Premium Connectivity will not transfer with the vehicle and will terminate once the ownership of the Model S, or Model X is transferred."

Tesla Luxe Package terms and conditions (PDF)

According to Not a Tesla App (February 16, 2026), the new terms apply to Luxe Package vehicles ordered after February 14, 2026, and before that "the included FSD license stayed with the car and transferred to the new owner." We have not seen Tesla's earlier terms document ourselves, so treat the pre-cut-off rule as reported, and ask a seller of a 2026 Model S or X for the order date.

Bundles on early Cybertrucks and Model Ys

Foundation Series Cybertrucks and Model Y Launch Series cars came with FSD in the price. Tesla excludes them from its transfer program, which ties that FSD to the car, but it has not published a separate resale rule for them. Confirm it is active before you pay extra for it.

The FSD transfer program and its dates

"Transfer" means two different things. The resale rule above is about a car changing hands. Tesla's FSD transfer program was something else: it let an owner who bought FSD move it from their old Tesla to a new one they bought from Tesla. The old car then dropped to basic Autopilot. Tesla's page said:

"If you transfer Full Self-Driving (Supervised) from your current vehicle to your new vehicle, your current vehicle will only have access to basic Autopilot features."

"Once you transfer your FSD (Supervised), it will stay with the new vehicle. If you sell the new vehicle to a third party, FSD (Supervised) will stay with the vehicle and be available to the new vehicle owner."

Tesla support, FSD transfer, July 2025 capture

The program ran in windows:

What this means for a buyer in late 2026:

• A car that received FSD by transfer keeps it for the next owner. Tesla, as quoted by Drive Tesla Canada: "Once FSD is transferred and associated with the new vehicle, it remains tied to that vehicle permanently - even if it is later sold to another owner."
• A car that gave FSD away does not have it, even though its original paperwork says it was bought with FSD. This is the most common way an old invoice misleads.
• Nothing can move now. With no open window we know of as of September 2026, a car's FSD status can no longer change by transfer. Tesla has reopened the program before, so this could change.

The February 2026 email that said something else

In early February 2026 Tesla emailed owners to buy FSD before the February 14 cut-off. Electrek and Kelley Blue Book reported that the email said a purchase "stays with your Tesla as long as you own it", which some read as meaning it would not pass to the next owner (Electrek, February 4, 2026; Kelley Blue Book, February 5, 2026). Electrek asked Tesla to clarify, and no answer was published.

The support page is Tesla's standing rule for buyers, and Tesla left its resale sentence in place when it edited the page again in June 2026. We follow the support page, but you should know the email exists. If a car's FSD was bought in the final days before February 14, 2026, it is worth asking Tesla directly.

When Tesla, a dealer or an auction sells the car

The rule above is written for owner-to-owner sales. Other channels have their own history:

• Tesla reselling a car: Tesla's own listing decides what you get. Its Certified Pre-Owned cars include "one month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised)" (Drive Tesla Canada, August 2026), and Tesla relisted Foundation Series Cybertrucks without their bundled FSD, with a 3-month trial instead (Drive Tesla Canada, June 2026).
• Dealers: a car bought outright and sold through an independent dealer normally keeps FSD. There is one well-known exception: in 2020 Tesla removed Autopilot and FSD from a Model S that a dealer bought at a Tesla auction, then restored them after press coverage (Electrek, February 2020).
• Salvage and auction cars: reports are mixed (Find My Electric). Do not pay an FSD premium on a branded title without seeing it active after the sale.

FSD Radar is independent and not affiliated with Tesla, Inc. Facts in this guide are dated where they change often; we re-check Tesla's support pages regularly. Spotted something out of date? Email info@fsdradar.com.